Apparatus for the manufacture of soap.



'P. KREBITZ.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFAGTURE 0P SOAP.

' APPLICATION I ILED NOV. 14, 1913. 1,126,787.

Patentd Feb. 2, 1915.

4 SHEETS-*SHEET 1.

W- Rx YYZUCIZZOY" P. KREBITZ.

APPARATUS FOB. THE MANUFACTURE OF SOAP.

' APPLICATION FILED NOV. 14, 1913. 1,126,787.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

P. KREBITZ; APPARATU FOR THE MANUFACTURE? OF SOAP. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 14, 1913.

1,126,787. Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

. e I 1- i g g i I I II I 4 l] I] II II II II II II II ll II II I THVY" Q i5 55 e F i a i 5; 25M 3g E5 Q y :l 1 u I ii: i; s Q g i i I I 1 II n I] n u II II 0 ll 1| ll II II T] IF I a '5'; I Q I r P. KRBBITZ. APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SOAP.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.14, 1913.

1,126,787. Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

' 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

SATES 1 PETER KREBITZ, 0F MUNICH, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO KREBITZ PROCESS COMPANY OF AMERICA, 01? AURORA, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF macaw.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

Application filed November 14, 1913. Serial Nc.'801,028.

To all whom it may concern subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at Munich, in Bavaria, Empire of Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for the Manufacture of Soap, of which the following is a specification.

vMy invention relates more particularly to apparatus for carrying out the process described in United States Letters Patent No. 858,295 granted to me June 25, 1907. This process stated in general terms consists in adding the oleaginous 'or fatty matter to be made into soap to a lime emulsion and after heating the same to boiling point permitting the mixture to react without further applied heating but under the heat of its reaction to forma mass of insoluble lime soap impregnated withglycerin. The

glycerin is then removed by washing and the insoluble lime soap converted to soluble soap by the addition of carbonate of soda or potash *with or without the addition of salt. For a more detailed description of the process reference may be made to the patent to which reference has been made above. The apparatus which forms the subject matter of the present application is particularly well adapted for carrying out this process though as will appear from a reading of the following specification it is also available for many other similar processes with or without modifications such as will suggest themselves to those skilled in this art. The specific illustration and description of a suitable embodiment of the invention is for the purpose of exemplification only, it being understood that the scope of the invention is defined in the following claims in which I have endeavored to distinguish it from the prior art so far as known to me without however abandoning or relinquishing any part thereof.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of my complete apparatus, parts being omitted'for the sake of clearness; Fig. 2 asection on the line 22 of Fig. 1 but somewhat enlarged and some of the arts being shown in section; Fig. 3 an e evation partly in section at right angles to Fig. 2 on a still larger scale; Fig 4 a plan of that portion of the apparatus shown in Figs. 2 and 3 on the same scale as Fig. 2; Fig. 5 an end elevation partly in section of the tank forming a part of the apparatus shown in Figs. 2, 5 and l; F g. 6 a fragmentary detail of the tank and Fig. 7 a horizontal section on the line 7--7 of Fig. 5.

Each part is referred to by the same refer'ence character throughout the several views. I

Referring now to F ig; 1, a mixer A is shown at the left of the figure and at a sufliclent elevation to provide for the grav- 1ty transfer of the material therefrom to the reaction tank B. Within the tank A is provided a rotary stirrer 8 having a pulley 9 thereon for rotating the same and provided with a series of arms 10 each hollow and perforated as shown for the introduction of steam into the mixer which is supplied to the hollow shaft 8 from some suitable boiler through the supply pipe 11. The

emulsion of lime in water of about the contemperature raised to the boiling point the.

mixture is drawn off through a pipe 12 controlled by a stop cook 13 into the reaction tank B. Here the reaction between the fatty matter and the lime is completed without the application of further heat, the process requiring several hours vand the product consisting of a solid mass of insoluble lime soap of open porous texture impregnated with glycerin in comparatively concentrated solution. Other bases such as zinc, baryta, etc., forming insoluble soaps may, if desired, be substituted for lime but the latter is preferred.

In order to readily and completely remove the product from the reaction'tank when the reaction is completed I form the tank with an end which may be swung open and provide an excavating apparatus of the character shown more particularly in Figs. 2 to 7 inclusive, adapted to be carried into and along the tank. The end of the tank which may be made of sheet metal is provided with a heavy reinforcing angle iron 14 (see Figs. 5, 6 and 7) which may be of cast metal and riveted to the body of-the tank, the outwardly extending flange 15 thereof being notched at intervals as at 16 for a purpose which will presently appear. The angle iron is formed with pairs of lugs 17 in registry with the notches in the flange between which lugs are pivoted swinging links 18 which are bent at 19-and provided with threaded eyes for the reception of screw bolts 20 with manipulating handles 21. The outer face of the flange 15 is provided with a liquid-tight packing 22 fitting in a dovetailed groove and extending around the sides and bottom of the tank in position to bear against the swinging end or door 23 when the latter is thrown upward in position to close the end of the tank. Suitable hinges 24 are-provid'ed to support the tank end when in open position and an eye 25 is mounted ;upon the free edge thereof to which a rope or other means for manipulating the tank end may be secured. The latter corresponds in shape and size to the perimeter of the flange 15 and is likewise and coincidently notchedto permit the links to swing into proper position as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 and when the door, is in position to close the end of the tank said linksare swung inwardly and the screw bolts tightened to bear against the door and hold it in .liquid-tight engagement with the packing above described. I

The means for excavating thesolid product from the tank will now be described but it may be stated as a preliminary to such description that if desired a number of tanks B may be employed in connection with a single excavating apparatus in which event the latter is mounted on a pair of tracks 2626 arranged upon opposite sides \of the series of tanks in position to guide the excavating apparatus from onetank to the other (see Figs. 2 and 4). Upon the tracks 2626 is mounted a carriage comprising longitudinal beams 27-27 and cross beams 2828 provided with wheels 2929 for engaging said rails and with tracks 3030 upon the upper faces of the beams 27, and at right angles to the first-named tracks upon which the bogie 31 is designed to travel. The frame of the bogie consists of parallel side beams 3131, an intermediate beam 32 parallel therewith and end beams 3334 (see Figs. 3 and 4). From said bogie depends an open V- or wedgeshaped frame 35 which is securedto the side beams and supports an endless belt carrying excavator bucket for removing the matter from the tank. The frame 35 comprises two end frames each of which comprises a pair of converging angle irons '3636 secured at their upper ends to the side beams of the bogie and connected at their bottoms by a horizontal member 37, the end frames being rigidly connected together by cross braces 38-39.' A shaft 40 is j'ournaled at its ends upon the horizontal members 37 and carries a pair of sprocket wheels 4l 4l and shafts 4243 each likewise carrying a pair of sprockets are mounted upon the under and upper sides respectively of the side beams 31 but spaced apart longitudinally of said beams. sprocket chains 44 is mounted upon the sprockets above referred to and carries a. series of excavator buckets 4545 having iejrrated cutting edges 46 (see Figs. 2, 3 and versely across the bogie beneath the upper run of the endless belt being secured to the under side of the side beams 31 in position to receive the matter dumped from the buckets as the latter .round the sprockets on shaft 43. The conveyer trough contains an endless worm 48 and terminates at one end in a downwardly directed chute 49 which discharges into a stationary conveyer trough 50 mounted upon the side of the tank. v The bogie is provided with means for driving the worm of the conveyer carried thereby and the excavator belt, being'provided for this purpose with a motor5l, the shaft of which carries a pinion 52 meshing with a larger pinion 53 upon a countershaft 54. The latter also carries apinion 55 which meshes with a pinion 56 upon the shaft 43 above mentioned which carries one of the pairs of sprocket wheels and drives the elevator belt. Upon the shaft 43 is also mounted a sprocket 57 which drives an endless chain 58 turning a sprocket 59 upon the shaft 60 of the conveyer worm or spiral.

In the construction just described, the motor mounted on the bogie drives both the excavator belt and the transverse conveyer. When one of the series of tanks above de- A pair of scribed is to be emptied the end door thereof is lowered, the carriage is propelled along in contact with the solid mass of lime soap.

In the meantime, or before moving the bogie, the electric motor is started so that when the mechanism is brought into contact with the soap the excavator buckets, which preferably are of a length to extend entirely across the interior of the table, rise along the end wall and cut or shave off quantities thereof of the mass of soap which, falling into the buckets, is carried up and dumped into the transverse conveyer-57 and by the latter transferred to the longitudinal stationary conveyer trough 50. The exca-' vating apparatus is of course fed forward as the buckets remove the soap until sub stantially the entire mass has been removed.

means? verse conveyer trough 63 having a worm 64: driven by a belt pulley 65. From the last named conveyer thematerial. is discharged into a grinding mill 66 of any suitable character driven by a belt pulley 67 and from said mill the ground soap is discharged by a chute 68 into the boot of an elevator 70. The latter preferably comprises the ordinary pair of endless chains 71 driven by a belt pulley 72 and series of buckets 73 connected across the chains which discharge into a chute 7a: aranged beneath the upper end of the elevator. Chute 74 dumps the material into a conveyer 75 which extends from said chute across an extraction tower 76 to a soap kettle 77. The last named conveyer is likewise provided with a worm 7 8 driven by a pulley 79 and discharges at its farther. end 80 into said soap kettle, but intermediate its ends and above the tower 76 is a trap or door 81 which may be opened for discharging the material received by said conveyer into the tower or closed to permit the material to pass on to the soap kettle. The first treatment that the ground soap receives after leavingthe mill 66 is a washing in the tower 7 6 and therefore the trap 81 is left open When material is being conveyed from the mill so that the tower is tilled to the desired depth with granulated lime soap. At its lower end the tower is provided with a cock controlled draw-off pipe 82 and above the bottom with a false or perforated bottom 83 which supports the column of material while it is being sprayed with water from the spray 84 for the pur pose of washing out the glycerin contained in the soap. Nhen the washing operation is completed the sweet water is drawn off to a suitable storage reservoir through the pipe 82 and the door 84 may be opened for the purpose of shoveling out the granulated soap into the chute 85-bv which it is returned to the boot of the elevator. Before the material is again raised and dumped into the conveyer 7 5, however, the trap 81 therein-is closed so that the material is then fed across the tower and discharged into the soap kettle a Z'. In the latter the lime soap is treated with carbonate of soda or potash, according to the nature of the soap desired, prferabl in a salt solution whereby the lime soap is converted into soda or potash soap, as the case mav be. and the. lime deposited as mud at the bottom of the kettle. After the material is allowed to stand sufficiently long, the soap rises to the top, leaving a. clear salt solution between the lime mud on the bottom and the soap, which solution together with the mud is drawn ofi into a tank 86 where the mud is allowed to settle. The supernatant lye is then pumped out and the mud forced by'the pump 87 into a filter press 88 by which the remaining liquid is extracted therefrom. Tfthe liquid remaining in the mud at this point is not of sufficient value, the mud may be disposed of without the filter press operation.

By the use of the apparatus above described the soap-making operation may be conducted substantially continuously with the minimum handling, it only being necessary for the product to be removed by manual means from the tower 76, the rest of the operation being automatic except in so fares it is necessary for the operator to intervene to open and close valves, etc., to properly control and direct the material.

1 claim:

1. In an apparatus for the manufacture of soap and the like, a mixing tank, a reaction tank, a stirrer in the former, means for excavating the solid material from the latter, and a pipe connection by which the liquid may be drawn from the stirrer tank to the reaction tank.

2. In an apparatus for making soap, a stirrer tank, a reaction tank and a grinding mill, a pipe connecting the stirrer tank and the reaction tank, and means for excavating the solid material/from the reaction tank and transferring it-to the mill.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, an extraction tower, a soap kettle, a com veyer adapted to discharge at will into either the extraction tower or the soap kettle, and means for depositing granulated material in said conveyer.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, an extraction tank, a soap kettle, a conveyer extending across said extraction tank and to said soap kettle, and a trap in the conveyer by which material deposited therein may be discharged into the extraction tower when desired.

5. In apparatus of the class described, an extraction tower, a soap kettle, a conveyer extending over the extraction tower and communicating with the soap kettle, a trap in said conveyer adapted to discharge material therefrom into the extraction tower, an elevator adapted to discharge material into said conveyer, and a chute adapted to discharge material taken from said tower into the boot of the elevator.

6. In an'apparatus of the class described, a soap kettle, a tank, means for discharging material from the soap kettle into the tank, a pump, a filter press and connections whereby material contained in the soap kettle may be discharged into the tank and the contents of the tank may be pumped into the filter press.

7, In apparatus of the class described, a mixing tank A, a reaction tank B, a pipe connecting the two for discharging the contents of the mixing tank into the reaction tank, a grinding mill 66, means for excavating solid material from the reaction tank and discharging it into the mill, an extraction tower, a soap kettle, a conveyer adaptpump and connections whereby the purnp ed to discharge at Will into either the exmay discharge material from the last named traction tower or the soap kettle, an elevatank into the filter press. tor adapted to convey material discharged PETER KREBITZ. 5 from the mill into said conveyer, a tank, Witnesses:

means for discharging the contents of the RICHARD LEMP, soap kettle into the tank, a filter press, a JOHANNA STERN. 

